compared to last year’s closing entries on my journal, this final post comes a little earlier for certain reasons. even when i have some days off there is still so much to do, in the days off between christmas and weekends. you might know i´m quarreling with my blogging activities, maybe having already said everything and running into false directions. if i look back on my blogging year, it was reviewing exhibitions, giving inside views and personal thoughts. as usually i could not resist to come up with certain recommendations (i have decided to quit doing it a hundred times, obviously I cannot…), as usually, some turned out less hot than presented, but we have to accept that a certain statement is released at a certain time in a certain mood. the time going by sometimes makes you see certain things in a different light… well, i will not examine what i have posted, i have to stand by my statements, but you may realize that some names appear from time to time, others do not. at least that’s fair and transparent, i guess.

making a lot of exhibitions this year was great. doing ‘show/time’ at kunstverin bochumer kulturrat with curator carsten roth was a big pleasure and honor to me. also, it helped my getting myself together, to focus on planning this show was targeting a milestone. not as a typical station in an artist´s career but also to prove myself what i was able to do. going into producing for two years was worth it, the response was great, i am thankful for everyone joining me during the opening and the artist talk, and generally for showing interest. (art is actually not the only thing what keeps me in contact with others, often the most easy and pragmatic one. i love days without talking about or making art anyway.)

also this climax brings up bigger questions. where to go from the mountain top? have i reached highest point which is possible for me or will it go on the next level? even if, can it be more satisfying? maybe the art thing is just a spending of time without any aim, there is probably nothing to reach? well, i have to go on doing what i do, but there must be something else in it, maybe something in a different context. no idea how to do it, but i need to rethink some things, even very personal ones. following a guidance question from the upcoming solo show ‘new pictures from outer rim’ at galerie143: why are the things the way they are and could it not be different? well, the fixed appearance of settings is complex, but basically man-made and conceptual. and this is the spot where i come into play.


one big and recurring topic on the journal 2014 was definitely markus ambach´s B1|A40 DIE SCHÖNHEIT DER GROSSEN STRASSE. we had a close view on it and took the offer the project gave us. i considered myself as the only one escorting the project via blog, being very critical and very fair. to be completely fair i have to say that even when i found many negative aspects i was well entertained and it was nice to get out and find art outside and nearby. it was fun to find out who was reading it, people knowing the works and people just following my reports from the distance. here the blog idea of the journal worked pretty good, bring me in discussion and contact with artist I did not knew before. (i did not manage to report about them, but I am sure 2015 will have space for it…)


here is another picture of oscar ledesma and myself in the ikosaeder gallery taken during the opening of the ongoing group show. i remember Oscar visiting me in march and telling that he was going to start a gallery. it was clear and i was thankful that we would go on working together, the year offered the big gallery opening, great concerts and show openings, my own solo show, further projects and now the common group exhibition. the gallery is a great project struggling with ups and downs, euphoric and disappointing moments. i always wanted to be so close and see so deep into the gallery phenomena, i hope for more adventures in the ikosaeder gallery. let´s keep it exciting. cross your fingers and support!


over the last two years i have reported a few times about matthias danberg, an artist also working with computer generated imagery and worth having an eye on his videos and prints. together with wolfgang van triel we form the self-titled triumvirate of tomorrow´s art and step into lectures and exhibitions from time to time. i had offered him a few times to contribute music or to use music from AESTATE and fortunately he had actually decided to use some of AESTATE´s music for his new work. we sat together in november to edit everything and make sure the movie gets the best sound possible. without saying too much, we are both happy with our collaboration and the result. we´ll put out a soundtrack parallel to the screening in january. and yes, we´re thinking about more common projects, maybe even to perform live…(this idea should make you freak out right now!)


next to being an artist i was also able to have the chance to join lectures of artist inspiring me a lot like tim berresheim and david claerbout. here they made you look over their shoulders, giving info on the technical development. getting close is always inspiring and confirming certain decisions concerning the own work. the funny thing is that they are not doing things completely different from what i do, just on another level. next to the production there is the need to interact with your audience by making lectures, artist talks, dj sets and tombolas. well, that´s exactly what i´m doing for years. answering the question of it´s effect may depend on the day and mood… they put their pants on like everybody else, one leg at a time.


being elected into the annual group show of mülheim based artist is a big honor to me. the museum is great and open to new ideas, i hope i can put out some impulse which is useful. in case of being elected next year, i´ll be part of the kunstverein, probably the youngest member. it feels strange and good to be the youngest… somewhere…


summing it up i am thankful, i know about my wrongs, trial and error, trying to get better and giving in to certain things. it is always a struggle, there is always a question, there is still a way left to go and a need to go on. in all doubting is a manifestation of the strong need to deal with it. an that´s what i do and what even more i like to do with you! seeya in 2015!


sven piayda | steam process
OFFENE GALERIE
galerie143, dortmund
2014-11-21 — 2015-01-17
opening 2014-11-21, 6 pm
fri - sat, 4 -6 pm

galerie143
simone czech kunsthistorikerin (M.A.)
rheinische straße 143
44147 dortmund
germany

+49 (0) 163 7847743

galerie143.de
info[at]galerie143.de

sven piayda | ground swell / one by one
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG MÜLHEIMER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr
2014-12-07 — 2015-01-18
opening 2014-12-06, 6 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

salutation by dagmar mühlenfeld, mayor
introduction by dr. beate reese

tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
free entry on wednesdays, 2 - 6 pm
tickets 4 euro (discounted 2 euro)

www.kunstmuseum-mh.de


sven piayda | band of twelve / ikosaeder drops / adam and eve
GROUP SHOW
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-12-12 — 2015-02-13
opening 2014-12-12, 7 pm

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de

questions? complaints?
click here

there is a lot going on these days, some positive and some annoying stuff, so was not reporting as much as possible. recently there are too many dates to follow, production, installing, openings and applications. it is strange, you really have to work for getting the chance to show your work, especially at great places. now as i have reached a certain level of continuity it feels like a machine running making me follow its direction. for the first time i think about doing less instead of more, but you have to accept that you cannot replace something with nothing. i can think of a few artists who simply quit their career for whatever reasons (and then they come back anyway). i had a conversation with a female artist last week explaining that she has quit producing because it does not make sense anymore (to her). indeed: you spend much time on production and networking, on installing and being present. you do it for money, fame and/or yourself (whatever that may mean), even if you are getting none of it. these actions take place in circles, ending where they had started.

well, all of this may sound depressive, actually it is just reflective. i have to ask myself if i have already reached the top of what is possible, and what would i define as the top? could i lead my affords into something more productive, more sense-carrying, profitable or satisfying? well, getting what you wish for does not make you a happy guy, maybe for a while, actually it is the wish that keeps you going. so how to have a new one?

and then the machine takes over again: even when i feel that my processes in the art scene have taken over i am happy again when it happens anyway. how could I turn down the offers i receive?

actually, i just wanted to share some sneak peeks with you, the ‘jahresausstellung der mülheimer künstlerinnen und künstler’ at the kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr will open on december 6 and i am once again happy to contribute. above you see the unhanged collection of ‘white-black’ works. isn´t it exciting have views like these?



some more selfie and hardware impressions: ‘ground swell’ will be nest to the video ‘one by one’ part of the show. all piece of the show are supposed to be black and white, lets see how it turns out. talking about too many dates: there will be an artist talk lead by dr. beate reese featuring a bunch of participating artists including myself: set you schedules: wednesday, december 11, 4 pm.

the circle of wishing, getting, installing and reflecting is going on, the installing will be followed by opening and artist talk, we´ll reflect afterwards. next year. later. together.


sven piayda | steam process
OFFENE GALERIE
galerie143, dortmund
2014-11-21 — 2015-01-17
opening 2014-11-21, 6 pm
fri - sat, 4 -6 pm

galerie143
simone czech kunsthistorikerin (M.A.)
rheinische straße 143
44147 dortmund
germany

+49 (0) 163 7847743

galerie143.de
info[at]galerie143.de


sven piayda | ground swell / one by one
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG MÜLHEIMER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr
2014-12-07 — 2015-01-18
opening 2014-12-06, 6 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

salutation by dagmar mühlenfeld, mayor
introduction by dr. beate reese

artist talk 2014-12-11, 4 pm

tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
free entry on wednesdays, 2 - 6 pm
tickets 4 euro (discounted 2 euro)

www.kunstmuseum-mh.de


sven piayda | band of twelve / seascapes drops
GROUP SHOW
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-12-12 — 2015-02-06
opening 2014-12-12, 7 pm

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

this weekend does not have any space for bordom, art fair cologne, contemporary art ruhr and kubo show appear parallel this weekend. i have already managed to join the opening of the a.f.c. and bloom art fair (a big thank you to my gallerist simone czech of galerie143 for bringing me in as artist and letting me not pay the 30 euro vernissage ticket) and the c.a.r. opening yesterday (also a big thank you to janina simione kulcsar for getting me in, see a snapshot of us in her booth).

it´s a ritual to complain about the strict commercial orientation, the flat eye candy and the unease of conformity to be felt among the works. and that´s my annual lament, lets get into more interesting phenomena:



the cologne art fair is divided into one hall featuring established galleries (like ones you might meet at the art cologne) and the blooom art fair, presenting younger galleries. well they definitely have the more fresh stuff, among the eye candy there are some positions pointing into the future again. (actually i cannot give more details, i was not able to capture these things correctly via photography or memory). A light beam pointing into the night sky is a good symbol for the blooom´s direction anyway.

the contemporary art ruhr comes up with a big and wide range, new talents, established and young galleries as well as students. Iindeed, compared to the fair in cologne, here you will find more extremes, more classic and sometimes debatable stuff on the one hand and fantastic surprises on the other. the c.a.r. has more fun and discoveries and less coolness and pokerface.



janina simione kulcsar is one of the new talents presented, i remember joining her for a KPR group show in 2011. her portfolio is full of photographs touching the sublime, a perfect opposite to a neutral capturing of surfaces. as her portfolio is about to grow and to transform, it is worth to keep an eye on her work and upcoming shows.



the students have been impressive again, especially with an interactive apparatus to share personal stories on your own experience with design as well as a real-time 3d-generator based upon your hand´s movement.

i hope to visit the kubo show on sunday, a report tba…


update 2014-10-27: as promised, this is my report update on the sunday´s visit of the kubo show. even if this fair has a strong commercial orientation on painting, small sculptures and multiples, you can find a lot of great stuff here, surprisingly without a current trend or conformity. certain positions even appear a little bit old-fashioned, which is in the context of three art fairs at one time an honest compliment. next to familiar galerie143 featured artists like elwira freigeist, martin naber and dirk pleyer i rediscovered andreas m. wiese, well known from common d-52 group shows. my new discoverey is painter pierre adam: his large paintings appear like abstract chaos at first, actually they transform into dynamic stills while watching them. a closer look unveals a variety of great techniques.


the sunshine in the coloured leaves of autumn made me have a walk through the park next to the flottmannhallen before entering. (you cannot spend your whole time inside of buildings...)
the park is also full of sculptures, peter schwickerath´s piece made me stop and wonder: what is cut-off and what is the shape wanted while both pieces are perfectly arranged together. this piece can be seen the whole year in the park.

watching the sunset later in front of the halls, watching the visitiors come and go while having a beer and time to reset. thinking about what i remember from the show or need to look at again was very relaxing. a chance to calm down is hard to find...


sven piayda | steam process
OFFENE GALERIE
galerie143, dortmund
2014-11-21 — 2015-01-17
opening 2014-11-21, 6 pm
fri - sat, 4 -6 pm

galerie143
simone czech kunsthistorikerin (M.A.)
rheinische straße 143
44147 dortmund
germany

+49 (0) 163 7847743

galerie143.de
info[at]galerie143.de






questions? complaints?
click here

as i am hanging around these days having a light cold, watching the grey weather making me remember my days in the netherlands with the same sky colour and humidity. we spent some days in zeeland again and wanted to go the great beach in burgh-haamstede. actually it was too rainy to even reach the beach, after stumbling through the mansion district we returned to the car. coincidentally we parked next to the westenschouwen lighthouse. to be honest, at this moment i was not too impressed by this encounter, but i was about to meet this motif again. having watched one or two david lynch movies i am triggered by visual echos, questioning the meaning. while lynch keeps it enigmatic anyway (there seems to be no ‘right’ answer…) the returning of the images was about to mean something, at least for someone who looks for meaning.


and here it is: the westenschouwen lighthouse proud in the rain. unmanned and not allowed to get closer.


as the rain decided not to stop we had to find alternatives to the beach plans. we visited the zierikzee camera museum giving detailed information on the history of photography, camera and film format development and even different stereoscope methods. one of the stereoscopes led us back to the morning´s lighthouse.


when you are in zeeland you need to eat fish. well, fried stuff from the sea at least. as our favourite fish restaurant has vanished (i´ll tell about that later) we happily found an other one (i´ll also tell about this later). the paper underlay in the restaurant delivered the westenschouwen lighthouse again. well, what could it mean to meet the same image again and again. fate? an enigmatic answer to all of my questione? maybe. it is just the local icon and it becomes it by quoting it. and by quoting it because others have quoted it. actually it is the same principle like a self-sustaining hype: you are more likely to have a look on stuff may others have choosen than to turn away and search for the unknown masterpiece, the non-confirmative piece or idea. well, an icon is made of believe. thank you lighthouse, but what am i going to do with it?


well, before i tell more about old and new restaurants i just have to share the plate to be placed on the paper underlay. we should do that from time to time…


more hoax: inspired by a simpsons episode featuring a musical about a betty ford center i have to sing ‘i´m checking in (or out)’ whenever i enter or leave the hotel. well, and these are the smartphone tv screen reflection selfies escorting it…



more visual echos: the kunstverein düsseldorf recently shows the tim berresheim solo show ‘auge und welt’. last tuesday tim joined the show for an artist talk giving info on the production methods, an event not to be missed for me. once again escorted by matthias danberg and wolfgang van triel, the ‘tomorrow´s art triumvirate’ as we like to call us. the next artist talk is scheduled for november 11, i hope to join once again. the show is great, no doubt, opening the digital world and transferring it into the room. i don´t want to tell too much about it now, Ii have blogged some times about his work (‘2010-03-03 a surreal nightmare´s rolemodel - berresheim 2010 | entry by sven’ and ‘2011-03-23 pondering WTF (no methology) | entry by sven‘) and this time i´d like to refer to an article fond on rhinebuzz.blogspot.com. i could not have done it better!
see you november 11, i need a new t-shirt!


my own solo show ‘seascapes’ at ikosaeder gallery will end today. there will be a quick finissage today, staring at seven and ending at eight. there will be some group shows coming up this fall. this will be fun, hope to see you!


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de

sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

finissage 2014-10-17, 7 pm

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

yesterday i returned from a short trip to the netherlands full of new impressions and the need to fix some thoughts here. i have been to the sea in zeeland earlier this year (for producing ‘the impossibility to take pictures of the sea’) but i could not come up with many of the impressions so far. well, above you see me at the toilets in the mukha museum in antwerp in march.
they offer toilets for men, women and artists, well, as you see we needed to do a still of me entering the artists cloak room, but to be honest: i did not really dare to go in, this is just a fake.
before going back to the netherlands i was thinking about using linguistics and video installations. as you might know i have studied linguistics (because it is believed this would probably help you become a better teacher for foreign languages) and thought about using the principles for curating or just combining works.
indeed, setting up a show or creating a more complex video installation by combining unique works follows the principles of syntax, semantics and pragmatics. in case of combining video works for a long installation piece you could think of unique works as words combined to a more complex content or narration like in a sentence. you might remember the combinations i came up with for ‘any minute now’ or the very complex double projection for ‘show/time’.




having the words (and in my case a growing number of words) i can create more and more complex sentences fitting into different contextual backgrounds. in march i reported about the idea to combine six works to a light narration called ‘golden record’. as this piece was done for a competition and rejected it was never on exhibition. now i hope to show a new combination piece called ‘one by one’, made out of four unique works and i hope to enlarge the ‘golden record’ combination to a narration made out of nine unique pieces to be called ‘new pictures from outer rim’ in 2015. cross your fingers, more tba.



yesterday i have been to the moti museum in breda, netherlands. we came here to see the todd hido show. wolfgang van triel discovered hido and recommended to have a closer look to his website, what i did, so it was a good idea to watch the show. his very unique and american style reminded us of david lynch, suggesting stories without pointing to a punchline… as I do not like the big blown-ups anymore (i have seen too many gursky/ruff/struth tableaus) todd hido´s wall filling canvas prints appear appropriate, beautiful and can make you dive into the picture.



more on video usage and achetypes: next to the todd hido show the museum had an exhibition about the visual echos of casper david friedrich´s ‘der wanderer über dem nebelmeer’ in art, pop culture, movies and private picture taking. next to the wide collection on display, you could see two more great ways of using video: i discovered the work of eelco brand on the art cologne in 2010, now finding his new piece consisting of a stylistic mountain top and a view into a valley at dusk with much traffic, looking a little bit like a mixture of david claerbout and michel gondry. a video sculpture made for this show and a perfect piece in mirroring the archetype. the original ‘wanderer’ was not on the show, of course, but a (live?) video projection from it´s exhibition. you can see the people step by have a look at it, like or dislike it and move on, and you suddenly synchronize with the people on the video and become a part of it, actually a funny and clever way to show a work that you actually cannot show in an exhibition…



yet another snapshot of me in the museum. after leaving it a dutch camera team interviewed me in a hit-and-run style for local tv about my perception of the museum, why i think the locals do not visit it and if i would recommend it, i was very positive in rating it, and the reporter said i was doing well. thank god you and i will not see the result. i imagine it headlined ‘german slowcoach likes our museum’… well, that is no secret anymore, when you act fast using a camera and a microphone you can make people say whatever you want. i really hope i did not tell too much crap and did not make too many language mistakes. because you know, i have studied linguistics…


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de

sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

finissage 2014-10-17, 7 pm

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

last tuesday i had to visit mülheim downtown to deal with certain things like getting a new id card and dropping another application for an upcoming group show participation. as i do not visit this downtown very often i thought it could be a good idea to spend the afternoon by stepping into the museum and have a look at the show. to be honest, i was very skeptical about it. shows featuring local heroes often have the potential to be quite boring, without any message or aesthetic skills, well, they often simply justify their existence by a long-term producing in the city they in which they are now about to show up.

the current show is nothing like this, it belongs to a project of parallel shows in museums of the ruhr area exploring the ‘ruhrkunstszene’ and it´s artists being locally located but nationally and internationally active.

‘der subversive geist’ at kunstmuseum mülheim/ruhr features (my new discovery) laas abendroth, alexander braun, johannes gramm, dore o., matthias schamp, johanna schwarz, klaus urbons as well as martin kippenberger und christoph schlingensief. last sunday´s artist talk also featured laas abendroth, johannes gramm, dore o., matthias schamp, johanna schwarz and in the offshoot of the makroskop, klaus urbons.


the exhibition actually turned out to be a must see for a couple of reasons. it is curated in a great way, even if it is a group show, every artist is represented in an adequate way concerning quantity and quality. also, the combining and interfusing of different positions appears logical and entertaining. this leads to another aspect: the show is very entertaining, from johanna schwarz´ philosophic reflections about animals and melancholy to laas abendroth´s kippenbergeresque humor. from dore o.´s well elaborated and long-term flim manipulation and johannes gramm´s consequent and constant identity transformations. however, you leave the show happy, not only because of some funny stuff (but no ballyhoo) you are confronted with. actually it is the combination of humor, philosophy, media mix and local history presented in a contemporary way of making a show.

the artist talk has even strengthened my fascination for the show, presenting the artists as honest, open-minded and interested people with a clear idea of their own output and the potential to continue the position. the visit of the makroskop lead me into a private guided tour by klaus urbons through the history of copy machines, photography and photosensitive papers convincing me to return asap knowing i can find and use historic technology fitting in my own body of work.
(photography by johannes gramm, used by permission)


and this is us on a tuesday afternoon, this is what visitors look like!

the show will be running until november 16 and is a must see. and you never know, maybe there will be another show in this museum later this year to recommend…


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de

sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

if you step by from time to tome and read my blog a little more often, you´ll surely know about my obsession with art, but also about my fascination for fast cars. from time to time i have the opportunity to jump into a bolide to do something far apart from rationality. you might remember my experience with a porsche panamera in 2010, an experience that made an impression, making my fascination grow even further, feeling like boy with a toy car (2010-06-08 panamera rodeo - three countries in 48 hours | entry by sven). actually, i´m an old boy and its an expensive toy. indeed my own car is nothing to talk big about and i do not have the money (or maybe do not want to spent it) for something which is pure joy while needing finances for some more important things.




however when there is the opportunity to get my hands on the wheel of a sports car i just do it. bringing my car into the garage yeserday and getting an audi tt as replacement vehicle i decided not to drive home on the straight way. the tt I a great car, actually it turned out very quickly that it is not that brutal in bringing up the power like the panamera but a great way to have a replacement car. so after some resting and getting the senses back together I tried some acceleration exercises at dusk on th efreeways around. well, i had to figure out quickly that there is no real opportunity to drive around in a fast way due heavy traffic, even at nights. so after blowing out 10 liters of gas that evening was over, a simple way to spend a friday night. so even if you accept the lack of rationality, i once again figured out i do not need it every day, but i can have it from time to time.

however, if you have a sports car and want me to take care of it for the weekend, give me a call, i can do that, proven!




more being on the road: when warp announced a new album by aphex twin dj kent granyon aka chris and myself quickly came up with the idea of celebrating the purchase of it. and we finally made it thursday, we made all the way to sounds in venlo (the best record store around) to get the last copy of ‘syro’ and some more albums. well, that might become a ritual… and yes, we hope to finish a new AESTATE album soon.



don´t forget: artist talk today at 6 pm. you are welcome to join the dates. all info in the nutshell below.


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de

sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

Schon viele Künstler haben sich in diversen Stilen und Epochen dem Meer als Motiv und Thema genähert – man möchte fast sagen, das Meer ist abgearbeitet. Ist es aber nicht. Eine zeitgenössische Herangehensweise zeigt die Ausstellung “Seascapes” von Sven Piayda, die am Freitag, den 19.09.2014, in der Ikosaeder Galerie in Essen-Holsterhausen eröffnet. Die Ausstellung umfasst neben Fotografien und Video vor allem auch eine Soundinstallation, die den alten Chanson “La Mer” von Charles Trenet aufgreift.

Gemeinsam ist allen Arbeiten, die Frage nach Realität und Fiktion. Was sieht und hört man eigentlich? Die Realität? Oder das, was der Künstler daraus gemacht hat? Oder letztlich das, was wir aus unserer eigenen Erfahrung heraus glauben über das Motiv zu wissen? Denn schließlich wissen wir über das Meer alle etwas: Wir kennen auf unsere ganz persönliche Weise die Wellen, das Rauschen, den Strand und die Sonne. Mit diesem Vorwissen betrachten wir die Bilder und glauben ziemlich schnell zu erkennen, was darauf zu sehen ist. Aber ganz so einfach ist es nicht und an dieser Stelle lohnt ein zweiter Blick. Sehen wir einen Sonnenaufgang oder eher einen Sonnenuntergang? Führt der Weg über die Düne zum Meer oder doch woanders hin? Wo steht eigentlich dieser Liegestuhl? Und wann singt endlich Charles Trenet? Diese (oder ähnliche) Fragen sollte man beim Besuch der Ausstellung im Hinterkopf haben.

Aus sicheren Kreisen habe ich erfahren, dass außerdem bei der Vernissage eine Klassik-Sound-Performance in Kooperation mit der benachbarten Vinyl Lounge stattfindet. Noch ein Grund mehr, sich am Freitag auf die Socken zu machen und um 19 Uhr in der Kahrstraße 54 aufzutauchen. Wer das nicht schafft, der hat am 27.09.2014 um 18 Uhr nochmal die Gelegenheit, dem Meer bei einem Künstlergespräch auf die Spur zu kommen.

originally published here:
libella-proof.de/bestmade/ausstellungseroeffnung-seascapes-von-sven-piayda-in-der-ikosaeder-galerie
used with permission.

plese check also best-made.de



don´t forget: the gallery opens all day for the kunstspur on september 27 and presents an artist talk with sven piayda at 6 pm. you are welcome to join the dates. all info in the nutshell below.


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de

sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

the markus ambach projekte ‘die schönheit der großen straße’ is already over so time is up for a summary of our experience and of the visit of dortmund schoenau. even if we managed to visit schoenau a few weeks ago, i could not report on time, now handing it to you now. well, i’d like to tell more about certain works a little lower in this article, before i have to tell about the discovery this dortmund suburb. well, as you can see above, this place offered a lot more landscape than expected and appeared a lot more attractive and worth visiting than you could have imagined…

well, this leads straight to summary in retrospective of the whole project. as you might know i have been very critical in reviewing and reporting about the project and it´s places, actually not because of a lack of sympathy, to be honest only because of the results presented. i personally take the piss when stupid plates explain the world in incorrect german, the word `pseudo-information’ had been in use for several times. fortunately, the wooden-framed plates have already been removed. empty houses have been presented as sensations, a lot of everyday whatever had been bound into courses making you discover things not worth to be discovered. (you remember the unicorn or the monster!?)

on the other hand the project brought some lame, some good and some brilliant pieces of art into the (mega)city along the ruhr, making you wonder about, realize and even disagree to the given concepts. once again, the quality of presented artworks delivered a wide range. critically announced has to be once again that there are no local artists in the row, only national (sometimes international) artists explain the area to the residents. a trendy concept made to fail by definition.

next to this we have to admit without any negative connotation that the project has lead us to places and so called non-places we would have never seen before just by hunting for the artworks mounted into the landscape. schoenau was a discovery, the kaiserberg spaghetti knot and the eichbaum remains something like home…

i think it is only fair when we split the final retrospective into these three parts, looking back a little thankful and a little pissed – entertaining anyway!


before we forget, some works to mention in schoenau: john miller: ‘a false mirror’ advertising tons giving a catalogue-like paradise housings in a row making you reflect about you own dreams of how you want to live. Well the surrounding appeard quite upper-class, not really soething I could affort. Living there, there would be no need to dream of a new house.

christian odzuck´s 'polytopos dortmund' is an impressive big sculpture, even a little bit iconic. according to the booklet this piece can have different functions, we tried hard and did not even discover a single one.


'offroad' by performance electrics is a great piece, probably a real punk statement. can you imagine a sculpture that does not only look good and carries a concept but also generates electric power? a brilliant idea gone astray again. the piece was taken off the grid because it is illegal to contribute power this way…
anyway, the potential is there, screaming the answer to nuclear power into your face.


off-topic, more power, more explosions: last saturday the max-planck-institute came up with an experimental lecture lead by professor ferdi schüth. this above is just one highlight. being a rock star is just one way of making the croud freak out, this is one of may other ways…


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de


sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

last weekend was one of the arty ones again, the work on ‘show/time’ and several other things kept me away from blogging and visiting shows. last weekend appeard as the second coming after the summer break, openings everywhere, parallel and teasing and actually hard to decide for a right one.


one to mention is definitely the martin naber solo show ‘dark attraction’ at galerie143 in dortmund. martin is also wanderer between the scenes and levels of the art world, always surprising but working out a straight position. being known for collages, his work appears dark and complex and adds seeking, collecting and destroying as well as well-skilled painting to his enigmatic and timeless compositions. like the chapman brothers, he is a unfilial ruminant of the long gone, bringing the remixes back to a dark but vivid life. a must see for the last days of summer, maybe the first days of autumn.

above you see us in a line-up that looks like an (h)artcore band (thanks to wolfgang van triel): myself, martin and longside gallery artist marco wittkowski during the opening on saturday. having an eye on the other guys work, supporting each other during shows and fairs as well as taking buddy pictures has already become a young tradition - and it is supposed to go on. dates for upcoming fairs, groups shows and solo shows are already on schedule.

same night: mental space, an off-room/gallery run by roman zheleznyak opened a minimal sculptural show by julia kröpelin. this is an interesting project in a strage environment working very autonomus and strictly conceptional. we have already planned to work together but had to drop it because of schedule issues. we´ll have an eye on it, too.



the museum abteiberg and its sculpture garden in mönchengladbach allured us with free entry last sunday so we stepped into it. ‘anello ‘by mauro staccioli reminded me of a lot of photographs i have taken myself featuring a cgi-created ring added virtually via post-production. well, this one here isn´t mine and it´s real.



stefan kern offers a ‘baumhaus‘ to little and big kids, making me climb up the ladder to fool aournd in the top of tree. well, the museum and it´s art is a little bit to old-fashioned, generally speaking, with little exceptions, i usually remain in awe-stricken silence but unaffected. okay, the gregor schneider pieces are always making you stare into the dark abyss, mönchengladbach needs a museum for his work only…


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de


sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

facebook event

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de






questions? complaints?
click here

Es gibt kaum ein anderes Medium wie die Fotografie, das so stark durch die Erwartung geprägt ist, die Realität und damit die Wahrheit abzubilden.
Auch bei der vorliegenden Fotografie "backyard circles" hat noch nie ein Betrachter angezweifelt, dass der Fotografierende die Situation so vorgefunden hat, wie sie auf dem Foto abgebildet ist. Oft erinnern die Kreise an ein anderes Phänomen, die bekannten "Kornkreise" auf Getreidefeldern, in denen die Kornhalme in einer regelmäßigen Weise umgeknickt oder abgemäht worden sind und um deren Herkunft es immer wilde Spekulationen gibt.

Das vorliegende Foto wurde mit den bekannten digitalen Bildbearbeitungsprogrammen manipuliert. Der innere Kreis wurde eingebaut und ist einer Fotografie des Brunnenbodens vor dem Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf entnommen worden. Aber auch die Urheberschaft des Fotos oder besser des vorliegendes Bildes ist nicht eindeutig. Das Foto wurde von dem Medienkünstler Sven Piayda gemacht und die Manipulation von Wolfgang van Triel, der das Foto des Brunnenbodens gemacht hatte.


Das Bild "backyard circles" entstammt einem gemeinsamen Projekt, in dem die beiden Künstler eigene Fotos untereinander ausgetauscht haben, die auch dem jeweiligen Blick des anderen entstammen könnten. Danach wurde es bearbeitet und dem eigenen Portfolio zugeordnet.

Das Projekt wirft die Frage nach der Urheberschaft von Bildern auf und stellt die eindeutige Zuordnung in Frage.

http://wolfgangvantriel.tumblr.com/post/96446166749/schmu-der-plan-d-kunstpreis-2014-beitrag-von

wolfgangvantriel.tumblr.com


wolfgang van triel | backyard cycles (with sven piayda)
sven piayda | lmvdr golf club model (with michaela best)
S C H M U
galerie plan.d., düsseldorf
2014-09-20 — 2014-10-19
opening 2014-09-20, 8 pm

opening hours
sat and sun 3 - 6 pm
(and on request)

plan.d. produzentengalerie e.V.
dorotheenstr. 59
40235 düsseldorf

galerie-plan-d.de


sven piayda
S E A S C A P E S
ikosaeder galerie, essen
2014-09-19 — 2014-10-17
opening 2014-09-19, 7 pm
introduction by oscar ledesma
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
thu 6 - 9 pm, sat 11 am - 4 pm
(and on request)

artist talk 2014-09-27, 6 pm (kunstspur)

ikosaeder galerie
kahrstraße 54
45128 essen

+49 (0) 176 72612101
dialog[at]ikos-galerie.de

www.ikos-galerie.de

questions? complaints?
click here

you might know i am into strange things like the broicher schlossnacht in mülheim, an annual festival between art, cabaret and music, featuring handicapped and non-handicapped people performing together. actually, this is one of only a few festivals that might really make you like being an a dreamy trip like alice in wonderland.
one regular guest among the artworks is definitely the 'weltensammler' (collector of worlds) as build by kelbassas panoptikum, a collection of bell-like dioramas of fantastic worlds to put you head in and to dive into a new world everytime.

i reported about the bells back in 2011: (2011-08-19 head in the bells | entry by sven). when i put my head into one of the bells which lead to this extremely funny pic of me, armed with an umbrella and a glass of beer. this year we even spend the evening with corinna and detlef of the panoptikum and i could finally make an answer shot of corinna having her head in one oth the bells.
it is simple to discover new things, isn´t it?


maybe you remember or like to read the feature i did on kelbassas panoptikum in 2012: 2012-04-05 EGGXPO feature: a night at kelbassas panoptikum | entry by sven. there are new projects ahead, you should have an eye on it, recently the REFUGIEN II show at landschaftspark duisburg. do not miss the guided tours!




not to forget some performance impressions from the broicher schlossnacht in mülheim. always a great way to spend a summer night. (upper picture by michaela best)


the classic finale is always the flying wheelchair. and here it is, with a pilot, of course, landing between people of the audience surounded by illuminations.


do not forget the 'show/time' artist talk with curator guidance next thursday, 2014-08-07, 6 pm at kunstverein bochumer kulturrat in bochum with carsten roth and myself. we´l tlk a lot and have a good time, maybe we´ll have ice-cream afterwards...?



sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

'show/time' artist talk with curator guidance
2014-08-07, 6 pm at kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
with carsten roth and sven piayda

facebook event

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article
ruhr nachrichten press article
der westen press article
lokalkompass press article






questions? complaints?
click here

escorting a big show that you are proud of is always tricky. am i reminding too much, too often, annoying people with something they are not interested in anyway, or am i showing too much evoking the illusion there is not more to discover in the show?
no matter how much i´ll show, there will allways be people complaining afterwards for not being informed combined with a reqest for definitely telling them next time...
you see, it remains a dilemma and i accept both scenarios, it seems like this is also part of the game.

as usually i like you to have a closer look over my shoulder (if you like to) to feed you need for more information or even deeper understanding.
after being invited in 2012 i started to think about placing works and how to show and combine videos. the main idea was the double projection in the basement. i was thinking about possibilities to combine them for two years, started to do a digital stoyboard early this year and corrected it many times even after installing the show...

the combination and timing of the projections appears simple and logical, actually thre is a lot of puzzle work, trial and error as well as sleeples nights in it...
you can have a look on the final digital storyboard build up as html over here to check if you have everything already or if you need to see something for any reason. the scaling in width represents the lengh of the certain video. well, is this helpful for you?


this is a snapshot of the finally installed double projection during the opening. a room to stay for longer actually.
plus because of many requests we are planning to do an 'artist talk with curator guidance' next week. if you have missed the opening, this will be your chance! fixed date tba...


another snapshot of 'the impossibility to take pictures of the sea'.
below you´ll find an excerpt of carsten roth´s opening speech dealing with the mini series. we are recently working on a good shape for the speech an will make it available via svennet as soon as possible!

Zur Demonstration des Kernthemas von der „Begrenztheit des Mediums“ greife ich noch ein anderes Beispiel heraus: Piaydas dreiteilige Fotoserie „The Impossibility To Take Pictures Of The Sea“ (2014). An der Darstellung des Meeres bei Ruhe und Sturm haben sich schon zahllose Marinemaler und Fotografen abgearbeitet, jedoch kann der Komplexität der Natur selbstverständlich kein Medium gerecht werden. Am Meer als Motiv interessierte Piayda der Umstand, dass es in seiner Räumlichkeit und in seinem jahres- und tageszeitlichen sowie meteorologisch bedingtem ständigen Wandel nur in einer ihm nicht genügenden Ausschnitthaftigkeit zu erfassen ist. Um dem Meer als Gesamtheit besser entsprechen zu können, hat Sven Piayda es bei einem Aufenthalt in den Niederlanden im Februar/März 2014 an drei aufeinander folgenden Tagen in seinen verschiedenen Wetter- und Lichtstimmungen fotografiert. Außerdem geht es ihm um die medial nicht darstellbare Weite des Meeres. Da eine normale Fotografie sie nicht abzubilden vermag, hat er die Bilddaten zunächst gestaucht und diese Stauchung wieder gedehnt. Herausgekommen sind dabei experimentelle Arbeiten, die in ihrer strengen konstruktiven Meer-Horizont-Himmel-Zweiteilung wirken wie Repros von Farbfeldmalerei.
carsten roth, curator kunstverein bochumer kulturrat


some off-topic: getting gifts is great, but sometimes finding the right gift for someone is also a big pleasure. a friend of mine made a birthday party, and because of having a vinyl record player and being into post rock and electronica it was up to me to make an esquisite choice. turner 'disappearing brother' (ladomat, 2000) is one of my all-time-faves, actually it is not very well known, so i have to bring it up. this record is masterpiece and i did not get bored of it in ten years, actually it is spinning in my player right now.
finding it on vinyl was funny, it must have been the last 'new' copy on the market, well, i see the prices rise up.

if you are into good music, well, maybe you should do a party with me on the list. or maybe i should do a party withe you on the list, you know, i like great presents, too.



sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

facebook event

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article
ruhr nachrichten press article
der westen press article
lokalkompass press article






questions? complaints?
click here

Ein quasi konzeptionelles Foto, das in seiner Doppelbödigkeit ganz nach Svens Geschmack sein muss: Eine Videokünstlerin (Alischa Diana Leutner) wird dabei fotografiert, wie sie einen Videokünstler (Sven Piayda) bei seiner Vernissage fotografiert. Und das wird hier auch noch weltweit gezeigt: „show/time“ eben! – PS: Der Typ links wollte wegen der „Begrenztheit des Mediums“ überhaupt nicht auf´s Bild.

(photograph by michaela best)


Ok, ist mir nicht gelungen, mich der Begrenzheit des Mediums zu entziehen. Auf der Voyager Golden Record wäre das Bild von uns aber ein Must-Have für die Außerirdischen. Vielleicht kommen wir damit ja auf den Bilderfundus der Voyager 3. Die Aliens sollten ja schon erfahren, dass Menschen generell personifizierte Bildträger sind und Fensterscheiben vor den Augen haben...
(photograph by alischa diana leutner)


Eine Impression unserer sehr gut besuchten Vernissage: Sven Piayda mit Ausstellungsbesuchern im großen Kellerraum.


Eine Impression unserer Vernissage: Sven Piayda mit Wolfgang van Triel im großen Kellerraum. – Letzerer kehrte heute zum Tatort zurück und schaute sich ganz in Ruhe sämtliche 37 Sven-Videos an, lediglich unterbrochen durch ein kurzes Kaffeepäuschen. Nun haben wir einen empirischen Anhaltswert: Das dauert zwei Stunden. Zusammen mit dem Betrachten der Fotografien kann man also gut und gerne mindestens zweieinhalb Stunden in der Piayda-Ausstellung abhängen.

Ausstellung SVEN PIAYDA: "s h o w / t i m e" – Fotografie | Video | Sound. – Kunstverein Bochumer Kulturrat (19.07. – 15.08.2014). – Kuratiert von Carsten Roth.



sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

facebook event

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article
ruhr nachrichten press article
der westen press article
lokalkompass press article






questions? complaints?
click here

there is a lot going on recently and i´m totally focussed on the 'show/time' exhibition. anyway, it is a rirtual for me visit the white nights at the raffelbergpark in mülheim by the theater an der ruhr every year and of course it is a ritual to repoprt and confirm that it was great once again i missed 'gott' by woody allan because of the worldcup soccer finals, but i willcheck it out anyway.

because the installing of the numerous technical devices at kunstverein bochumer kulturrat we managd to join the white nights for one night only. 'kasper' by peter handke was on shedule, we watched it last year, so we decided to focus on the music performances and the cocktail bar.


music is always exciting if you shift the borders and blur the styles. uwaga! mixed up classical pieces with pop song meodies, well, actually they created mash-up versions i only knew from a deejay culture. it is true, edvard grieg and rage against the machine work perfectly together, not only as a funny joke, but as a lesson in what makes a great composition.


alphabeth closed the night with a very pop music style sound, to be honest very much pop for the white nights. anyway a great performance and a perfect fit into the venue.


a snapshot from last year. i only drink cocktails one time a year, and this is it. an yes, i do not have enough money to do it more often...



sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

facebook event

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article
lokalkompass press article






questions? complaints?
click here

quite spontaneously we took a trip to kaiserberg, actually a spaghetti knot of two highways and train tracks in duisburg. in between these traffic overload you can find slots of nature and of quite rural living concepts started even before the big knot started to grow.
to cut a long story short, once again even this station of the B1|A40 project delivered some surprises, actually one cognition: the text to be found in wooden framed plates appeared a lot better and informative than seen before. (there is the theory that these texts are based upon research material developed for the 2010 project…) the other is the long course around and through the kaiserberg, the maps in the program booklet differ from the ones in the plate, you take long walks through unfamiliar and strange places and wonder if you have already got lost. we decided to simply return after a while, it is quite unsatisfying when you are missing plates or hints, wondering if you are right or if the promised artwork or special place will be there or will be worth the journey.

all in all (before looking at some artworks we have discovered), walking through the kaiserberg spaghetti knot is impressive, looking like nature on the countryside while you are hit by the traffic noise. strange and evoking the question for beauty with an open answer actually.



jeanne van heeswijk, marcel van der meijs and britt jürgensen present with 'teilhaben bringt glück - was setzt du auf‘s spiel?‘ a mixture between a research center, gambling machine and construction trailer. unfortunately closed, an interesting piece which cannot be fully experienced here.



michael fehr creates with 'überplanungen‘ a very educational project, telling the history of becoming of what you actually stand inside. a very logic way to deal with a place at this certain place and to scientifically approach its history. unfortunately, there is more to learn and to discover than you are able to absorb on a sunday afternoon walk between the fields. but that is definitely my problem.


danica dakic'´s 'gänseoper‘ is a container sending out noises by geese recorded on a farm near the eichbaum station making geese noise mixing up with traffic noise around.this appears seductively disturbing on the one hand, redundant on the other. well, maybe a sound installation would be close to what i would have done, but let us be honest: does the kaiserberg motorway junction need more noise?



maybe the real discoveries are the paths for pedestrians walking through the green but frightening close to the highway. actually it is shocking how close people live to the motorway, in the fumes and noises. all these places somehow try to be beautiful, actually the kaiserberg motorway junction is too dominant, everything remains surreal and misplaced.

so summing it up for now, B1|A40 delivers great artworks and odd places, great discoveries and big disappointments, brilliant ideas and stupid texts. well, more ore less. more to come...

i´ll have an eye on the b1a40 project, for the meantime, find out yourself: b1a40.de


more on kaiserberg? of course not part of the project but an annual place to be: the ‘white nights’ at raffelbergpark by theater an der ruhr, the park placed theatre plays, music, illuminations and cocktails. i am reporting about it every year, this year they are from wednesday to sunday, 9.-13. july. I have to get there anyway, what about you?



sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

facebook event

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article
lokalkompass press article






questions? complaints?
click here

after joining the opening of B1|A40 DIE SCHÖNHEIT DER GROSSEN STRASSE at eichbaum station in mülheim last week i have told you about my thoughts concerning the rediscovery of this place. i have also promised to have a look at the other stations along the highway. i could not visit all of them so far, but being around sometimes made us stop and look for artworks and local phenomena.

after being critical about it, i have already found some convincing ideas, some interventions that really make sense to me, places i have to discover now and the cognition that i have been there never before and would not have been in the future probably.
on the other hand the tour also delivers some big disappointments, the feeling of being fooled once again and the question what makes a place worth to be taken into the course.

also i have been wondering if i tend to see things too critical but it turned out that my perception is shared by other visitors. the presentation of odd places, enigmatic artworks and texts explaining how ugly these places are combined with a missionary concept of bringing culture to the ones who do not have any makes the region appear quite stupid in the conceptional approach of the project.
without being 'locally patriotic', many texts analysing the situation in the ruhr area are uncomplimentary and sometimes even incorrect.

i do not lament about the fact of missing local artists or complaining of not being involved myself, but the question remains: why do we need artists from somewhere else to explain something i already know better?
let's have a look at certain artorks and places.


manuel franke´s 'fixstern' in essen frillendorf. a big piece you have to be aware of even without having interest in the project. impressive by it´s size, dissapointing in meaning. even with the help of the conceptional text it is not to understand, the sketch even shows that the final work looks quite different then originally planned, it even does not realy fit to the concept anymore. it does not even fit onto the house it covers...



'klitschko_w klitschko_v' by leni hoffmann presents a work following hoffman´s typical vocabulary of coloured putty and cushion. this is a real discovery, a place made to be left offers a friendly way to stay and hang around. here the concept works, the intervention makes the surreal place more beautiful and worth staying a while.



in frillendorf we could not really find a course so we made our own. as i have complained about finding a lot of boring local phenomena in the course and part of the project i was wondering why the graffiti along the highway was no part of it. i am no graffiti fan in the first place, but this is a natural way of adapting ugly non-places and turn them into something vivid and beautiful. is this project not exactly about this?


a visit to bochum hamme: the basement of berggate 69 is turned into an interim museum, the 'museum berggate 69' presenting and reflecting the unique past and present of this place. here once was the inge baecker gallery, starting and spreading the fluxus movement with artist like allan kaprow or al hansen. today the house is home of a dance club and a BDSM studio, all shown and brought together in this temporary exhibition. worth visiting and experienceing the global impact of this place on the art world and what it is now.


another wooden framed plate leads you to the tire yard and somehow there is supposed to be a connection to kaprow (making a tire tower once), the yard and the museum. well, a hommage, whatever it looks like, it could be art or just every day business. the incomplete text on the plate once again delivers pseudo-information.
do you feel fooled? i do.



the dückerweg generally is also a big disappointment, a tuner meating that takes place every friday night for years now or a painting in a seats store. (yes, you have to enter a store to see a work which is also installed for years.)

dückerweg delivers only one real artwork which is actually a masterpiece: kunstrepublik shows 'tor des westens', a mixture of an installation piece with car wash. the shape quotes architecture from different cultural backgrounds and open borders, the washing symbolizes the ritual cleaning and welcoming to the new place. this installation is perfectly escorted by the sound of something sounding like traditional volkslieder, which are actually songs especially written and performed by die türen for this project. the songs have critical textes dealing with the issue of migration and calling guest workers.
this piece works on many levels and must be experienced.
bring your car and feel welcome!

so summing it up for now, B1|A40 delivers great artworks and odd places, great discoveries and big disappointments, brilliant ideas and stupid texts. more to come...

i´ll have an eye on the b1a40 project, for the meantime, find out yourself: b1a40.de


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com
i am still arranging the storyboards for the many video installations over and over again...it´s endless. and produce dvd garbage.


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat
coolibri press article






questions? complaints?
click here

last saturday markus ambach projekte opened B1|A40 DIE SCHÖNHEIT DER GROSSEN STRASSE at eichbaum station in mülheim. you know that i have certain connection to this place and to the project raumlaborberlin installed with residents and related artists here in 2008 and 2009, so i have a very sceptical view on the whole reopening thing (and adapting architectural and transformal concepts) that i have confirmed even last year during the pre-opening: 2013-08-12 eichbaumgold: the past inside the present | entry by sven to be found over here. now i have checked the opening and installations around the eichbaum, i can only talk about this part of the whole project. i do not see this as a pars pro toto, i´ll have a look on further courses in the future.

anyway, i am still interested in this place and its transformation and i want to keep it fair. i do not need to confirm that everything was better in the past over and over again, we have to accept, that time moves on and older ideas around the eichbaum are now put into action by others. stepping back for a wider picture, the whole project appears quite attractive: artworks installed where you would not expect them and a re-discoverey of beauty where you would not look for it. actually something i would love and recommend you (and probably command you) to visit.

unfortunatey this case appears different: even if you want to like it, you cannot, you feel fooled for a lot of reasons (some examples later). i do not really understand what the project is about. there are not enough artworks to make it look like an art project, there is only pseudo-information given at too ordinary places to be an educational or historical project, and no differentiation in labeling between artwork and 'naturally' grown pieces. but all these places are pimped out with titles like 'unicorn', 'monster' or 'white house'. that truly sounds exciting, maybe you would like to find out what these things are, but you will be thankful to be told and to be spared finding out yourself. summing it up, no cognition, no sentiment, but a bunch of recycled ideas without hitting the core.

during the opening markus ambach came up with an improvised speech, once again trying to explain the project but without any clear message or intention to be named. you will find all the keywords for modern urban projects like participation or transformation, but they have became hollow and could mean everything. of course, all these things are meant to help you discover the beauty next and close to the highway, but we did not need this project for this purpose, actually it is not even helpful.



after the speeches at the opening the ruhr-casino bochum e.v. performed a short dance performance. a great performance anyway, remining of the opera or the boxing in this special 'non-space', which generated a glimpse of a surrealistic and engrossed moment this place is open for. well, the only reason for the performance is simply the location of the dancing club next to the a40 in bochum. this means you would probably find everything around the a40 which makes the choice – among many others – arbitrary. after the perfomance there was time to take buddy pictures with the female dancers, at this time we decided to leave.



in a course through the eichbaum wooden framed plates inform about certain artworks or local phenomena, you can find out what the 'unicorn', 'monster' or 'white house' is. as you might see, the given texts do not carry necessity, information or orthography.
by the way, the 'unicorn' is the tram, the 'monster' is the a40 growing closer to houses. you´ll find out about the 'white house' later, these are the local phenomenons to be discovered ...


christine und irene hohenbüchler place arty pigeonries on a field behind the station. actually a wider work needing background information to be captured compleately. an installation with metaphoric and social components to be put into action in combination with the '8 1/2 circus space'.



the '8 1/2 circus space' by volker lang is probably the best piece on the course, half a circus tent, delivering stage and seats making people become performers and/or audience. this is a great example for interactive art, it triggers action without explaination. unfortunately, the causal nexus to the highway appears a little bit crumbly again.


and this is the 'white house'. a white house near the highway without residents or people taking care of it transforming into space for band rehearsals. a footnote of the aera and another disappointment in front a wooden framed information plate.


maybe the best work, still, the opernbauhütte, ripped out of context, painted golden for no given reason. maybe it is a monument now, reminding us of what was and what could have been.
and of matthias rick, of course.

i´ll have an eye on the b1a40 project anyway, an maybe i´ll be convinced and then i´ll tell you straight away. i promise!
for the meantime, find out yourself: b1a40.de


plus: not a man-made artwork but another storm created wreckage: like an unintended lowrider, this looks funny and shocking at the same time. i´m sorry for the owner, it feels like someone making the wheather must have a strange sense of humour. you do not feel like laughing, right!?


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com
i am still arranging the storyboards for the many video installations over and over again...it´s endless.


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

this pentecost was one of the hottest pentecost weekends ever, it was far too hot to do anything. i remember feeling a little bit bored. i found myself in the garden, reading under the cherry tree. this is worth mentioning because i well known for not reading (books) usually and because i usually are not able to calm down for days to do actually nothing productive.
the book, by the way is worth mentioning: 'kunst hassen' by nicole zepter. i haven´t finished yet just to have something remaing for later.

the evening of pentecost monday delivered one of the most powerful thunderstorms we could think of. running around on the house, watching the multi-coloured and falshing sky, checking the roof and watching the trees bending in the storm. well, we were lucky, i had some water in the studio but nothing was damaged, a big branch crushed down from a big tree on the right side while me parking on the left. my car was damaged anyway, a crack in the glass i have to fix.

after the storm we checked an got checked by the neighbors, finding out that nothing has been damaged seroiusly. so we checked the street and the place surrounded by some neighbors and drunk people coming from parties. whole trees were lying on the streets, the lamps were out sending us in strange and surreal darkness. suddenly i found myself in an apocalyptic scenario, i thought about the movie 'cloverfield': people running around in disorientation and shock in a landscape that looks like a battlefield leftover.
did that really happen? and what will be next?

above you see the bus stop nearby, covered with fallen green.


here is the same scene of the bus stop the other morning. more or less everyone was running around, trying to get an idea of what happened and where we are now, taking pictures and reporting and hearing the same story by everyone.
i was wondering if it was okay to run around and take pictures (like everyone does), i don´t want to be a tourist of disasters. actually, all the aftermath discovering people are residents and they try to understand and get along with what has happened, taking pictures appears as a therapy against the own disbelief.
pictures actually cannot cover what it looks like.


facebook and the common media delivered numerous pictures of the disaster aftermath, this is just one giving an idea of everything is green. and the quick cognition that you will need pofessionals to remove the fallen trees. still, it looks like this and i honestly expect it to take weeks to remove everything... there is too much to remove, actually.


when it started, you could see it coming: the super cell full of destructive power as big as our federal state appeard fascinating and threatening at the same time. once again i had to think of a movie. do you remember the crack in the universe in 'futurama: the beast with a billion backs'?


a mix up from some flashlight all around in the landscape. if this is summer i´m already fed up with it....


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com
i am still arranging the storyboards for the many video installations over and over again...


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

contemporary art ruhr opens again, this time at the brutally beautiful sanaa building, which you might remember from the recent sichtwerk showings in the last years. photography and (new) media are the core disciplines for the three days lasting art fair.
you might know that my view on it remains sceptical, but i´m always willing to be convinced. to come up with the punchline first: the absolute star at the opening night was the setting sun sending its red light in horizonal rays into the sanaa building (after a week of grey skies).
the fair itself presents galleries, artists and students dealing with these modern production methods. there is a lot to discover, different levels in quality of course, some great ways to use technology leading to great artworks some less interesting stuff. once again it is proven, as modern technology terminates the ductus, the conceptual approach is even more important and tells a great from an odd piece.
i´d like to show some highlights, i apologise for not being able to tell every artists´name (the c.a.r. site is not helpful at all), if you want me to add a certain name, feel free to drop me a line.


the sanaa building in summer eve light welcoming visitors.


a great sound installation making noises of someone walking on the way you actually walk on, then you realize that you are synchronizing with the rhythm... this is a work by dina boswank.
(thanks a lot for mailing and handing in the credits!)



valentina boneva from romania shows a visitor triggered audiovisual piece somewhere between alpine voodoo and digital exorcism, a great piece soaking you in. a great mixture between video, drawing, generative imagery and sound design.


MILZ (simon deeg and andreas picker) installed a piece that truly hits the core of today´s celebrity cult: a van driven apparatus reproducing marilyn monroe´s signiture over and over gain. hi-tech for all, appearing simple and genius at the same time, ironic and threatening.


featuring artists from south korea has a long tradition for the c.a.r., and these artists always set a high level. yang-ho kim and yoon kyung oh show photograps ink-jet printed on korean paper making these picture look like drawings, seducing and always with a second look, blurrying the mediums.



lukas langguth shows another funny masterpiece. reminding of thomas struth´s museum photographs he shows the visitors more active while taking selfies of mona lisa and themselves. well, to make a selfie with his work seems only consequent! '#meandmona'


a different way to deal with media art and a shifting perception: audrius mickevicius uses a video tape in a quite unusual way.
(thanks agan to dina boswank for telling the artist.)


a happy surprise, our friends from das gespinst present their graphic illustrations. the collective will release their magazin #4 on june 13.
watch out dasgespinst.de






at least ome more impressions from the opening, myself lost between the impressions, the sunset outside and inside, and michaela (also blogging) in valentina boneva´s video installation. we hope, you enjoy!


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

i wanted to come up with certain impressions from the studio to make sure (even for myself) that things are developing. next to the solo show at kunstverein bochumer kulturrat this summer i am also planning stuff for an upcoming solo sow at ikosaeder gallery, maybe we show certain stuff twice.
anyway, the production method for my works is quite simple, based upon the idea to keep it simple in production and exhibiting, more or less the same set-up for every work. recently, i´m quite good and reliable in production right now, even with the helpers as photo labs, mounters and assistants.
what really drives me nuts are problems which should be already solved. i was burning dvds yesterday coming up with some new work for a competition and i never got a working result, the dvds seem to be crap again, in case that this is hopefully the problem. please cross your fingers, i hope to get new material soon, to get working results, especially for the shows in summer.

if everything works fine, i´ll get the mounted photographs next thursday, let´s see what they look like. then we´ll focus on video.

you know, from time to time i think about quitting this, because it can drive me nuts and takes a lot of money. anyway, writing helps a lot, so i can scroll down myself and find these problems which turned into jokes afterwards.
well, do not forget to buy some stuff, it was expensive in production and made me mad.





some studio impressions from yesterday, many frames waiting and demo version cut down for competition.





some previews from may 7, some works cut into frames, not mounted yet, if they do a good job, it will look even more great!


next to the new works, we made some new cards, get yours now!


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

last friday oscar ledesma opened his new gallery ikosaeder in essen. i have finally managed to come up with some impressions and the belief that this is going to be great. the gallery partner kuhn and ledesma do not put the focus on commercial issues first of all, but there is no doubt that this enteprise will also gain economic success, even without aggressive selling strategies (we have enough of them around). anyway, the gallery is placed near the museum folkwang, surrounded by three other galleries, here is enough space for competition but also for collaboration and halo effects.

next to that, i´m thankful to be allowed to be a part of it, and we are planning funny events as well as great shows, like we did before — just a little bigger this time...
ikos-galerie.de


a classic paparazzi shot: if you are on openings these days you have to accept to be shot anywhere you go. sometimes you´ll be posted on facebook even hours you come home to realize. the only thing you can do is dress up properly and try to look interlectual...
above you see me surrounded by my inner circle, michaela best is also scheduled to come up with a show, on the right photographer and art addict wolfgang van triel, actually not the first time we´re shot on an opning together...


oscar knows how to keep the party going: botticelli baby delivered some dirty swing making the crowd dance. you might klick the pictures for larger impressions.


yet another selfie in the party crowd. it was great to meet old and new friends and to make plans. more to come, hopefully.


a tiny studio update: we are recently producing the works for the 'show/time' solo show at KBK in bochum in summer. here you see two of the smaller works, the right one is supposed to come up in the show at ikosaeder gallery in september.


next to the new works, we made some new cards, get yours now!


the teasers for the gallery gained a lot of attention and positive feedback, actually a lot more than i had expected. there is another teaser and a set of prints that we have not released yet, maybe we´ll come up with them as digital edition for my show...
ikos-galerie.de


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

once again i got in conflict with the law and like to share it with you. on mayday, we finally managed to visit ‘propaganda für die wirklichkeit’ at museum morsbroich in leverkusen. the has actually ended today, otherwise I would have recommended it to you honestly. the show appeared to me like a mixture of old friends featuring claerbout and pfeiffer on the one hand and new discoveries like cieslik und schenk as well as omer fast. actually some kind of show i like to see and and like to do.


while we were captured by the strange narrative power of his three monitor installation ‘talk show’ by omer fast, i (or my car) received a parking ticket for not placing the parking disc in the window. well, indeed, i had simply forgotten it and i do not claim to have not done a mistake, but seriously: a ticket for parking without parking disc on a museum car park on a holiday? well, 10 euro anyway and the knowledge that we all have learned something now, but I do not get what it is actually…


the museum placed in a beautiful castle, enough space for great exhibitions. well do not forget to have a coffee in the hunting room!


my outlaw activities have a long tradition, you might remember 2007-03-26 federal paparazzi attack | entry by sven. to look back, click here and scroll down!


some snapshots from today: kelbassas panoptikum (detlef kelbassa corinna kuhn, see also 2012-04-05 EGGXPO feature: a night at kelbassas panoptikum | entry by sven to look back, click here and scroll down) have opened their show REFUGIEN II at landschaftspark duisburg-nord today. above you see corinna kuhn introduce to the ideas of neophyts, transformations and migration of plants all illustrated by their beautifully mutated sculptures floating around.


the ideas of (triggered) changes in nature have been even more drawn to today’s economic reality by bauer heinrich giving some critic ideas in genetic engineering and the long tail of biologic, economic and ethic dangers.



some snapshot impressions of refugien II: strange biologic beings are all around, escorted by photography and video. free & must see.
click the small pics for larger views.
plus: dates for guided tours and all info over here.


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com


here is the second teaser for the opening of oscar ledesma´s gallery IKOSAEDER. abover you see the second teaser the studio has produced for the gallery. and i am happy to say that i am now artist of the gallery. watch out, theer will be some great things head!
next friday, may 9, the gallery opens. seeya!
ikos-galerie.de


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

visiting the art cologne every year has become a tradition, complaining about the works and the whole fair set up in general also did. and here we go: i have widerly accepted that these high quality and upper society events may have their value and price, but paying 10 euro for parking is even making me upset. but, like everyone else, i pretend to be rich enough not to show my anger.

maybe it was me once again who has lowerd the expectations, who could not be disappointed. the whole fair apperad to be quite shallow. well, there was nothing really bad on the one hand, nothing really good on the other to be found. big names here and there, some photography, some painting, a lot so sculptural something, decorative and not touching. i ususally search for trends or new directions, this time was even more self-preserving without any risk or vision.
anyway, there were some tiny highlights indeed.


i remember standing in front of a real basquiat painting during the art cologne years ago, a smaller and extremely expensive work. and here you see the halo of it, even the advertising posters for the (historic) shows are on sale now, pop star status and relic cult in one frame, making you forget what the two actually stand for...
well, of course i appreciate the iconography, you might remember oscar ledesma and me copying the postures for our own common exhibitions at clowns & pferde gallery, see here.


an echo from the past: allan mccollum was one the first artists that made me understand conceptual approach and the beauty and strength of an idea, which is probably the only way to create something perfect, meaning a result closest to its original idea.
here you see another variation of a bunch of individual works produced in a serial flow evoking a tension between the unique piece of art and the industrial age and it´s possibilities to create large amounts on request.


i am sorry for not remembering this artist´s name, the iron pieces of a model for a battle ship made me shiver. it appears easy and joyful to combine all parts in the right way and play war. maybe war is just a game for big boys and it is easy to do with weapons.


after straying around in disorientation i returned to the special exhibition 'eden was never so close' of students of the kunsthochschule für medien köln. i guess i have a favour for dark rooms with moving images on the walls. to be honest, this show was my highlight, escorted by a free catalogue. even if you cut out my preference for video i still appreciate one special thing about the works differing a lot from the other stuff on the fair: maybe not all the the pieces are masterworks, but you can really get that all the exhibitioning students have a clear vision of ther work and all explore their concept a great visual approach. within these dark rooms you could get an idea of ambition...
the group show´s title 'eden was never so close' is also the title of bastian hoffmann´s sculpture, as documented via video projection showing a pile of orange crates swinging in the hall of an insurance company. hoffmann has even left an impression during the last art cologne and further group shows in which his works have clearly shown up as highlights. i´ll have an eye on the progress of his works, do you?


please save the date: july 19, 2014. showtime.svenpiayda.com




'golden record' (2011-2014) was originally only concepted as a combination of videos, now it my be material for a public, three parallel screen projection in public... more t.b.a.


here is the second teaser for the opening of oscar ledesma´s gallery IKOSAEDER. abover you see the second teaser the studio has produced for the gallery. and i am happy to say that i am now artist of the gallery. watch out, theer will be some great things head!
ikos-galerie.de


sven piayda
S H O W / T I M E
kunstverein bochumer kulturrat, bochum
2014-07-19 — 2014-08-15
opening 2014-07-19, 7 pm
introduction by curator carsten roth
piayda is expected to be present

opening hours
tuesdays 3 - 6 pm
thurstdays and fridays 6 - 8 pm
(and on request)

showtime.svenpiayda.com
kulturrat-bochum.de
facebook.com/kunstverein.bochumerkulturrat






questions? complaints?
click here

you might remember me writing about buying an artwork by oscar ledesma entitled 'reina de mexico' in 2013, a piece i had an eye on for some time and which finally made it´s way into my living room.
after spontaniously buying it i realized at home that this masterpiece was not signed. well, after buying it in september and reminding oscar during every meeting not to forget to sign it, we finally managed to come together for signing this week and to played with some ideas for the future, still we want to come up with collaborations again.
next to different stuff oscar wants me to curate certain stuff and added: "so you can write into you journal: 'now i´m artist, tourist and collector AND curator!'"
well, and that is exactly what i am about to do!

have a look at the original article 2013-09-29 role shifting: artist, tourist and collector | entry by sven by clicking and scrolling here.
i guess the next one will be about curating...or more purchasing art? well, what about selling art?




here is a court-proof documentary of oscar signing. when the prices will go through the roof (and i actually expect them to do so), we should not waste money and time on law-related stuff.
what are we going to buy next?

find out on oscar´s website oscarledesma.net


my own solo show at bochumer kulturrat is going to the home stretch, we have be doing the flyer last week, abover you see me with a black and white dummy, i cannot wait for the multi-coloured versions around.
please save the date: july 19, 2014.




as you know i usually do short looped video pieces, but having only one screeing installation forces me often to combine single works to a larger compilation leading to a new context like different tableaus dealing with the topic of the show. the one above will be called 'golden record' (2011-2014) and hopefully shown this year.



well, please check the KEPLERSTRASSE 88 TRANSFORMATION 2012-2014 feature. it comes up with all the photographs i have taken during the (visual) change from frb 2013 - feb 2014, whithout any comment, i guess i have shared my thoughts enough about and round it. well, i´d really like to know what you think...



plus: 'any minute now' show still open and in need to be seen! above you can watch the documentary focussing on my video installations. please check the exhibitions site for views on the current shows and read the press review. the show will be open until march 29 and will end with a finissage at 7 pm, i hope to see you there!


update 2014-03-18: just another short update: playing around with some up-to-date forms and so far non-used photographic material led to this tiny teaser produced by the studio for ledesma´s upcoming IKOSAEDER gallery. we hope you enjoy, this was just a some playing with material thing, i hope it helps to establish the gallery quickly. opening on may 9, save the date! (more tba...?)
ikos-galerie.de


sven piayda | any minute now / trails
ANY MINUTE NOW
kugelpudel, bochum
2014-02-08 — 2014-03-168
opening 2014-02-08, 7 pm
special events to be announced
press review

kugelpudel.com


sven piayda | collapse
KRAFT
qqtec, hilden
2014-03-21 — 2014-04-06
opening 2014-03-21, 7.30 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

qqtec.de






questions? complaints?
click here

taking pictures in a museum is a delicate topic, dealing with a visitors fascination and the (copy)rights of the artists. in the WDR radio show wdr3forum roland nachtigäller (artistic director of the marta herford museum) reported about tolerating the fact that everyone is taking photographs of artworks, simply because you cannot control or stop it anymore. that does not mean that it is allowed or legal, but the majority of visitors accepts this policy as permission to photograph everything you would otherwise just remember. it is the same with sculptures outside, generally every work that clearly has an author. i am aware about this issue and i try to respect artists rights, on the other hand i know that i also show peoples´ work, but i report about it and try to make it more common, which actually increases the value of a work in the post-modern age.

next to this tricky issue i also like to take photographs in museums without showing certain artworks, i am more interested to create my own original work taking place in a museum, adding a certain layer of meaning. above you see me photographing the woods outside kröller-müller museum in the netherlands in october 2013, a scene i have take a dozen times before but up to now never delivering a satisfying result. i created a video piece from the few pictures i have made and it had turned out to be quite boring. anyway, the building defines this extremely beautiful und unique panorama outside and i decided to turn it into another work…


when you walk around in the kmm sculpture park you´ll meet a lot of great pieces, i have reported about it a few times. some of these sculptures appear as old friends after a while. when you go deeper into the garden you´ll find an outside and open pavellion showing further sculptures. we left it through the bushes and i thought i´d see a penrose triangle, build into the park. (the first time i went there taking a pic it turned out to be blurred and out of focus, a further visit made me do the same round, taking the same pic which you see above) in this case i could not figure out the artist, name or year and i have already understood that this is not supposed to be a penrose triangle, but this was great inspiration and led to a certain work of mine:


'penrose triangle' is based upon the picture taken in the kröller-müller museum (as shown above in the head of this article) and is strange even for my works. the impossible triangle is impossible to construct even in a digital space, even here you have to hit the right angle to make it look convincing. well, and this is the story behind this picture, carrying my personal views on a very special place and the issue of photography in a museum.


here is another example, not really a selfie but a picture of me in the museum. once again the view on the outside appears as greatest artwork here, whenever we get there we take the same picture (rituals again), it makes me look important and maybe people assume this could be my living room by having just a quick view.


next to this group of chairs as shown above, you can often find glass cabinets around. with a flat and cold sun sending some light into the exhibition space, you can find alleatoric compositions on the floor sometimes, made by shadows and reflections, actually a composition in a museum without a (human) author but mirroring the inherent demand of an artwork to reflect its archetypes and put the shadow on the copies. 'shadows and reflections on a museum floor' is all mine, no doubt about that. if you want to take pictures of my work it is okay for me - a long as you do not forget to mention my name and to tell how fantastic you think it is (and do nit make money with it), because that´s the way i usually do it.



well, please check the KEPLERSTRASSE 88 TRANSFORMATION 2012-2014 feature. it comes up with all the photographs i have taken during the (visual) change from frb 2013 - feb 2014, whithout any comment, i guess i have shared my thoughts enough about and round it. well, i´d really like to know what you think...



plus: 'any minute now' show still open and in need to be seen! above you can watch the documentary focussing on my video installations. please check the exhibitions site for views on the current shows and read the press review.


sven piayda | any minute now / trails
ANY MINUTE NOW
kugelpudel, bochum
2014-02-08 — 2014-03-168
opening 2014-02-08, 7 pm
special events to be announced
press review

kugelpudel.com


sven piayda | collapse
KRAFT
qqtec, hilden
2014-03-21 — 2014-04-06
opening 2014-03-21, 7.30 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

qqtec.de






questions? complaints?
click here

the transfomation of the 'old' place is nearly over, even for me, witnessing the change loses edge, i am losing interest.i thought it would be time to end my documentation and present all the taken pictures together.

it was on a february evening in 2012 when i was asked to leave my appartment, because the nearby aldi supermarket has bought the houses, planning to wreck them down for a new and bigger supermarket closer to the street. i watched all the planning (concerning myself) the neighbours new directions, the wrecking down, the cleaning up, building up and opening the new supermarket. an that is it what it actually is, a new supermarket.

all this manpower and material, all these inverstments for something that looks quite similar to what it has been before exept more profit. i am impressed what can be possible as long as someone believes that there is profit in something, ingoring all things in the orbit of this enterprise. well, i do not want to draw this devellopment more dramatic than nesesary, i just find two evidences for two thoughts:
the more money you invest, the more profit will (likely)be generated (that means you can actually push every idea upward)
and: if a potential investor smells profit, everything is possible. if you take this thought as an example and scale it up, you´ll might be scared...


originally i have started to take pictures from the back of the houses, where i used to park my car and thought the change would be more impressive. as you see, the new wall makes these pictures more and more boring, so the views on the front (main street side) appeared more attractive for doumentartion.



well, please check the KEPLERSTRASSE 88 TRANSFORMATION 2012-2014 feature. it comes up with all the photographs i have taken during the (visual) change from frb 2013 - feb 2014, whithout any comment, i guess i have shared my thoughts enough about and round it. well, i´d really like to know what you think...


there is so much more to report , fried fish and darkness in the dunes. and the return of record of tides! asap!


plus: 'any minute now' show still open and in need to be seen! above you can watch the documentary focussing on my video installations. please check the exhibitions site for views on the current shows and read the press review.


sven piayda | any minute now / trails
ANY MINUTE NOW
kugelpudel, bochum
2014-02-08 — 2014-03-168
opening 2014-02-08, 7 pm
special events to be announced
press review

kugelpudel.com


sven piayda | collapse
KRAFT
qqtec, hilden
2014-03-21 — 2014-04-06
opening 2014-03-21, 7.30 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

qqtec.de






questions? complaints?
click here

after a longer break time was up to drop some lines for the journal. we are very busy recently, in producing works for upcoming shows and documenting the currently running ones. anyway, even if wanted to stop portraying fellow artists (caused by regretting it in the past sometimes), i cannot quit. actually, it is to exciting to be part of a vivid scene and to get close to people producing and showing.

last year´s KPR group show 'big city lights' brought some new discoveries concerning people and positions within art. beatrice richter turned out to be a unique discovery, wandering between the worlds. studying art at the kunstakademie düsseldorf on the one hand while participating in exhibition projects at decayed venues in gelsenkirchen on the other appears remarkable and worth a second look. bea turned out to have a wide knowledge and understanding of contemporary art, knowing names and disiplines without misusing it for posture. being still a student working out the core of the own style she remains sceptical concerning art and academy inherent systems while keeping openminded to work far away from big names or long biographies.

her own work isn´t completely defined yet (thank god), but it is worth a second look. at first you would realize the bright (neon) colours appearing quite abstract. mixing up different techniques the motive sometimes appears a little later. even then a tension between abstract neon and realistic shape remains.

like an old cat, bea has realized the great artists do not have competitors, so she supports fellow artists and visits a lot more shows than i do. so the snapshot above was taken during the opening of 'any minute now' at kugelpudel, bochum.

looking back to different artists i have introduced here (forgetting those i should have left out) i can say that i generally had a good idea of who you should have an eye on. (think about wolfgang van triel, matthias danberg, oscar ledesma and matthias tränkle to name a few...) so don´t forget to check richter´s portfolio from time to time, over at beatrice-richter.de


recently my favourite from the portfolio. 'ghost ship' doesn´t really look scary, or is it a post-nuke leftover scene?


as seen at the 'rundgang' 2014 at kunstakademie düsseldorf. 'high vent' (diptych) in the shadow of a giant portion ambrosia, a painter among sulpturers. she won´t like to be compared to peter doig, but some atoms are it, actually shining a lot more bright.


plus: sven piayda studio has produced a six minute documentary video on the 'any minute now' show focussing on the video installations by sven piayda. it will be on soon, for the meantime watch this video documentary of 'replica/lightyears' as shown at museum mülheim. please check the exhibitions site for views on the current shows and read the press review.


update 2014-02-25: the wdr3 radio channel has started to use social media for interacting with and getting listeners. so i was invented among about 100 bloggers and twitterers to join the live on air discussion (wdr3forum) on the chances and experiences of cultural institutions to generate audience and to get in touch.
the discussion was escorted by a video wall displaying the tweets escortong the radio show, mostly sent by the people of the audience in the studio. as i do not have a smartphone by now, i had the chance to follow the discussion, read the tweets and take a look around.
well, the idea of this experiment is quite simple, realizing that we live a version 2.0 world with everyone participating and interacting in the digital layer of contemporary reality and knowing that blogging and tweeting is cool and state of the art, broadcasting media must be a part of it and wanted to test the possibilities here.
the result appeard shocking to me. the discussion among uwe schulz (anchor), wolfram kähler, roland nachtigäller, christoph müller-girod and dirk von gehlen had a high level, reporting ideas and experiences of using more social media interaction in connection with so called high art. the invited bloggers and tweeters around appeard like zombies, starring into tiny displays typing in flat jokes or echoing context-free phrases from the discussion appearing as big letters on the screen. i was scared, all this technology, the devellopment of pocket computers, communication satellites and software programming for a community that presents themselves as the future (often in a very arrogant way) is used to proof that they have nothing to say actually and are not able to interact. all this technology helps to send your own simple thoughts out into the world, preventing you from reading and thinking about other people´s thoughts which would lead to a real interaction.
the blogging smartphone community loves to drop jokes on smartphoneless (older) people, ignoring their abilities or needs, like there is a group of digital-free fossils waiting to be extinct.
i was wondering if i am already to old for progress, if i am afraid of modern technologies and if i am not able to interact or to participate in discussions... well, i cannot test myself, but i do not think so anyway. and it leads to my phrase with which i want to be quoted in 500 years from now: "technology devellops faster than the needs in life", this might be the issue for the 21st century. are all these devices really helping us to devellop, create, interact and get together? yes, if these things really(!) happen, they do.
and please remember, listening to music, watching a 19th century painting or reading a letter is interaction already. if you cannot understand that, i am not interested in your thoughts - wherever you´ll post them.
by the way, the text you have just read is the longest one i have found escorting and reporting this special radio show.

update 2014-02-26: i´m sorry, michi has shown me some more blog reports and there is nothing wrong with the quality and depth of the discussion. i just wantetd to point out that smartphones and twittering is the key to the future of culture and (its) interaction.


so much discourse makes me need some fish and some relaxed time near the sea. i hope to come up with some photographs taken in the netherlands again. don´t forget to visit the kugelpudel group show, by the way!


sven piayda | any minute now / trails
ANY MINUTE NOW
kugelpudel, bochum
2014-02-08 — 2014-03-168
opening 2014-02-08, 7 pm
special events to be announced
press review

kugelpudel.com






questions? complaints?
click here

i have been expecting these news for longer, actually, the release frequency went down after the magazine was closed, i´m a little bit sad anyway. digital kunstrasen was a great playground and helped me to do releases with AESTATE, penrose delta and renert trio. thomas and meik have always been open-minded when i came up with new ideas, eps and full albums and supported many releases right from the start. today they feel old-fashioned, the idea of a netlabel seems to be antiquated in a digital world next to soundcloud and bandcamp.
i cannot really agree, because placing something in the net does not make it a release, the power of this netlabel was the power to cross borders, place their artists in focus and create and feed a community far away from genres or profit. having proven such power, i´m a little bit disappointed that their fear of becoming out-dated did not lead to a new level in netlabelism.
of course, i respect the decision knowing that preferences have to change in life from time to time and that you have to end a project when it loses edge and the makers interest.

i remember noticing them in 2005, releasing firstly and celebrating their 5th anniversary in 2010 and putting new ideas into action like bringing guitars into the AESTATE sound or adapting j.s. bach, playing lo-fi post-jazz and some experimental rock songs. all of that was possible and normal. i still had plans for future releases with AESTATE and penrose delta, all of this will be delayed, some stuff maybe never put out.

above you see meik puppe and myself meeting for the first time in luxembourg in 2011. strange ideas in the middle of europe, non-pofit releases in the capital of capital…these are things i´m into. i fear that some great releases will vanish from the net, but I will keep an eye on that and bring the AESTATE stuff back in the one or other way,,,



some cover and links to our common projects, the music releases on digital kunstrasen. enjoy!

find out yourself: digitalkunstrasen.net

sven piayda | any minute now / trails
ANY MINUTE NOW
kugelpudel, bochum
2014-02-08 — 2014-02-28
opening 2014-02-08, 7 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

kugelpudel.com


sven piayda | ring / shedhead / replica/lightyears
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG MÜLHEIMER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr
2013-12-08 — 2014-02-02

art lounge 2014-01-30, 7.30 pm*
*sven piayda´s participation to be announced

tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
free entry on wednesdays, 2 - 6 pm
tickets 4 euro (discounted 2 euro)

www.kunstmuseum-mh.de

some random views of the show on the exhibitions section. also have a look at the press section serving the WAZ/NRZ article on the exhibition with lots of background info on the show.






questions? complaints?
click here

that appears really strange, after reporting about discovering wachtendonk and it´s quietness i had to return to this sleepy village once again. i have been taking pictures of a school in wachtendonk during the winter break through some leaveless bushes. when i was home again i realized this could be a nice counterpiece to 'summer break 2004' from 2009.


'summer break 2004' shows the rooms of a primary school (which has been broken down for a new building already) during the summer break in 2004. as i originally wanted to create a photographic series about it i realized that the numerous shots simply did not work together, so i turned them into a splitscreen video piece, which turned out to be working perfetly.


back to the new wachtendonk school photographs: well, there i was, ten years later after the original shooting in a far away village and five years after the video production coming up now with a dismal black and white winter version series of the closed school building during the break. the idea appeard striking to me, even the idea to show video and photographs together.
once again i wanted to make a series of four pieces, 'winter break 2014', finding out that work #3 is blurred and #4 shows a fence which is on no other picture of the series.

so i had to persuade michi to go on a trip to wachtendonk with me to take pictures with a serious approch (on a more or less grey winter day). originally i wanted to re-do the whole seires, back home after creating a new version of the series i finally only replaced pictures #3 and #4 of the original series. in the final work you once again will not see the effort in making these pictures. the result is meant to look quite dismal and incidental. a great counterpiece anyway...


i am recently busy with doing new video works which will be combined for two larger installations for a media installation and video group show at kugelpudel entitled ANY MINUTE NOW. above you see a still from 'moon orbit', a piece i have finished today and which is supposed to be the opening sequence for one screening slot. it is supposed to show 15 black and white video pieces and will be escorted by another screening slot with nine colourd videos.
the show will start on february 1 at kugelpudel in bochum. i cannot wait to tell you more, still, a lot is to do! if this is turning out as great as it is planed you should not miss this!!!


sven piayda | insomnia
OFFENE GALERIE
galerie143, dortmund
2013-11-30 — 2014-01-11
closing 2014-01-11, 4 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

galerie143.de


sven piayda | ring / shedhead / replica/lightyears
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG MÜLHEIMER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr
2013-12-08 — 2014-02-02

guided tour with and artist talk 2014-01-19, 11 am
art lounge 2014-01-30, 7.30 pm*
*sven piayda´s participation to be announced

tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
free entry on wednesdays, 2 - 6 pm
tickets 4 euro (discounted 2 euro)

www.kunstmuseum-mh.de

some random views of the show on the exhibitions section. also have a look at the press section serving the WAZ/NRZ article on the exhibition with lots of background info on the show.






questions? complaints?
click here

what i dislike most about the turn of the year is the gap filled with boredom in between. everyone is lazy, everything is closed, still, even in january everyone feels like it is still time for a break. well, so do i.
i was out, the ritualized visit to roermond (outlet and market place) with my mother appeard overcrowded, no surprise but surprisingly anyway. ususally i check the reduced t-shirts, my mother checks dinnerware. without any purchase we decided to leave quite early...

on the early way back we decided fo the most unagitated place we could think of on the way back home. it turned out to be wachtendonk, a tiny town near the dutch border. the funny thing about this name is that it tminds me of the sound it would make if you hit a duck with a watering can. it turned out to be full of old houses and without any people outside. indeed, cold and rainy day in a town somewhere between fields appeard the right counterbalance to the consumer overkill and a magic set up for senes i am looking for in my works: places that look like stages for everyday life, often ignored caused by appearing unspecific, here even crowned by rainy wheather. actually, you can find pictures where you do not expect them and where most peole do not search for.

even if i look like pulling up my trousers i am not, somehow i simply look quite stupid on this snapshot. it´s just a tourist picture where you would probably find no tourists (who would be taking touist´s pictures).

that´s it, 2014 is on the way, i guess i have taken one or more good pitures in wachtendonk, i hope i can show them soon.



the fist minutes on the fields on our dog circuit, watching the mülheim skyline blowing off firewoks. we had our jumbo magic lights, but you cannot impress people using pseudo millitary firecrackerswith these things. it was silent and calm this year, but not boring.
we did a an new magic light installation, well, that´s tradition! i hope to come up with it as soon as possible.


back in the old year i found these old works of mine called 'authorities' executed in 2002 but taken out of my portfolio. back then i was using analogue film and had no idea what my position as an artist would be all about, just doing serial work because i thought i had to. that was good for learning about the usage of natural light and the legal issues concerning picturing people.
my studio must be full of old stuff, growing and growing.
also, as we are working on an own collection of artworks, we are proud to own photographs by klaus jost. on the wall, soon.

aldi, still, i´ll have an eye on you. these pictures seem to have nothing in common... the left ones show what it looks like actually, the right ones are shown by google street view, dated back to 2008.


sven piayda | insomnia
OFFENE GALERIE
galerie143, dortmund
2013-11-30 — 2014-01-11
closing 2014-01-11, 6 pm
piayda is expected to be preset

galerie143.de


sven piayda | ring / shedhead / replica/lightyears
JAHRESAUSSTELLUNG MÜLHEIMER KÜNSTLERINNEN UND KÜNSTLER
kunstmuseum mülheim an der ruhr
2013-12-08 — 2014-02-02

guided tour with and artist talk 2014-01-19, 11 am*
art lounge 2014-01-30, 7.30 pm*
*sven piayda´s participation to be announced

tue-sun 11 am - 6 pm
free entry on wednesdays, 2 - 6 pm
tickets 4 euro (discounted 2 euro)

www.kunstmuseum-mh.de

some random views of the show on the exhibitions section. also have a look at the press section serving the WAZ/NRZ article on the exhibition with lots of background info on the show.






questions? complaints?
click here